Many years ago, I taught first graders. It was an exciting adventure to meet those eager cherubic faces every day. They had a thousand questions and a thousand more stories to tell. I heard a myriad my-dog and my-cat stories. I heard the family gossip and the mommy-told-me-not-to-tell stories. You never knew what to expect. You had to be on guard against the quick smile and the giggles that came so readily when the first graders told their perception of how babies are made and how the world came to be. When you are a teacher, you never want to laugh at a child’s sharing, no matter how far-fetched and ridiculous it may sound. Feelings are so tender and easily influenced at that age. Besides, the teacher is the queen of all knowledge in first grade. When a student reaches seventh grade, everything is turned around. Students know everything at that age. It has been suggested that junior high students should be employed while they still know everything, and no one would miss them at home. But first grade is a magical age where you learn first things first, and it’s very important to keep the order straight.
In first grade, you learn the alphabet. A is for apple. B is for ball. C is for cat (even if C sounds like K) and D is for dog. You never get the order mixed up because it would make the song sound funny. You play games to help you remember the order, and you say each letter to your parents and your friends. If you make a mistake, second graders correct you because they have learned there is an order to things.
You learn numbers in the right order, too: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. You can say them fast or slow. They are always the same. You can count them backwards – 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 – but you know that the order is still the same. You count dogs and cats. You count butterflies and bugs. One number matches each item. It all works out fine because there is order in those things.
In first grade, you learn that you read a story from left to right. Of course, that is after you have learned to tell right from left or after a teacher marks an R on your right hand and an L on your left hand so you can tell the difference. You learn very quickly that the story gets all mixed up if you read it backwards or start in the middle. There is an order to things like that.
You learn there is an order to the lunch count, and it comes just like the alphabet. Girls are in one line at the girl’s restroom and boys are in the boy’s line at the boy’s restroom; you get called ugly names by the other kids if you get in the wrong line. In first grade, you learn to wait in line quietly and not push and shove. You learn that a train is like a line and the cars follow in an orderly fashion. You can make your line like a train, and everyone gets to where they want to go a lot faster because there is an order to things. That’s what you learn in first grade.
Order did not really begin in first grade; it began with God in the creation of the world.
If we align ourselves with God’s principles and order, the chaos of our lives will dissolve into perfect order. The hardest part is figuring out the order of God. In the beginning, God did not put animals on the Earth before He created the grass and the herbs of the field. He divided the light from the darkness and provided a watering system before he put plants on the Earth. God had a plan. In other words, there was a spiritual creation before He executed His plan. God did not expect for His children to come to Earth and live in chaos, though some of us choose to do just that. We allow life to write our story upside down, backwards or any way it turns out. We allow the expedient to take precedence over the valuable.
Stephen Covey in his books, Spiritual Roots of Human Relations and The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, suggests that we spiritually create our lives. If we spend time in the morning spiritually creating our day through prayer and communion with God, our lives will have more meaning and effectiveness. Taking time to think about our day is essential. Covey even went so far as to say we need to plan our lives by writing a mission statement or long-term life plan. What do you want to accomplish in your life and how do you plan to get there?
An effective life plan would include prioritizing our lives to align with our values and training ourselves to spend time on the things that matter most. Often we spend time doing things that we value least – sorting possessions, browsing social media, complaining, watching endless YouTube videos or figuring out how to make more money to buy more things to stack and sort. These tasks often take precedence over family time, teaching children, spending time with our spouse or helping our neighbor.
Jesus said, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33 KJV)
God spelled out His priorities in the Ten Commandments. Loving God was the top of the list. Honoring the Sabbath day and parents came next, and the rest of the commandments explain how to treat others. His priorities are clear. He did not spell out methods for getting rich and buying toys. He wanted us to build and cherish relationships.
In the beginning, He gave Adam and Eve the charge to multiply and replenish the Earth. He wanted them to have children, but he also wanted them to be productive and use their time building and making the world better. That commandment has not been rescinded. We are happier if we are creating instead of consuming. Our lives are more fulfilling if we are working on a worthy goal that will bless others rather than a goal that blesses only ourselves and often makes us look better than we really are.
Jesus spelled out His values and announced His mission statement:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19 KJV)
As we bring our own mission statements or life goals to reflect His mission, we cannot go far wrong in finding true joy and happiness in this life. Captives are all around us. Many of them are not in physical prisons; they are captives of addiction, poverty and ignorance. The blind are those wandering through life without purpose or direction. Oppression is all too common in our society. We may even be suffering from it. It is Jesus’ mission to relieve those maladies in the world. If we want true happiness, we will help Him with His work.
His yoke is easy and His burden is light. He is the way, and He knows what priorities need to be first and last. After all, He is the first and the last. His commandments and teachings are first-grade stuff. They are the basics and if followed will ensure happiness in our world of chaos.
Look to the examples of those who have followed the path. Gandhi, Mother Teresa and Jesus, himself, remembered what they learned in God’s first grade. People who follow the path understand that lines are like trains, and if everyone works together, everyone gets there faster. These champions of right live life with purpose. These people live their lives in the order of putting God and people first. They serve because it is right. They love because they want people to be happy, and they will leave a legacy of love even if no one remembers their deeds or their names. I do not know if I will ever get it right, but it is nice to have people remind me by example what it means to have first-grade order.
